I think that tip lead is often confused as something we are attempting to achieve. An intent. It is not. It is a visual corollary and not a cause based on intent. We will see SL racers like the one in the above photo let their inside scoot forward in one of ten turns and is no indication that it is something to try to copy in any way. That is not a good photo for demonstrating a need for tip lead. She is shining the gate low because she has a tight line whether because she was late or is setting up for an off-set turn. On most turns she is crossblocking high and achieving equal dorsiflexion. As a matter of fact, she may be achieving equal dorsiflexion in that very photo. Ski racing provides poor context for technical freeskiing, a different discipline altogether. The camera angle is suspect for that purpose as well. Ski boots do not/should not hamper the goal of equal dorsiflexion. Not using the inside ski will.
I see things a bit different from the skiers I would wish to emulate. One of them is the ability to maintain parallel shafts, in both relative planes, throughout the entire turn cycle which is in direct reference to equal tipping of the feet and equal dorsiflexion of the ankles which is then in reference to pressuring “both” skis the way we need to. We want our skis to move back and forth under the CoM together as one unit and not shuffling alternate feet back and forth. Nobody is teaching or coaching anything that would increase the inside tip lead in any discipline of skiing for a reason. While we may always have a little bit of natural inside tip lead, excessive tip lead of more than just a few inches is always the result of an inactive inside ski, boot and foot that is commonly associated with the lack of that mobility. Excessive inside tip lead is an A frame in the coronal plane, viewable from the side and caused by weak inside dorsiflexion. The more commonly referred to A frame is in the sagittal plane, viewable from the front or rear and indicated by unequal tipping of the feet/skis. Both A frame conditions indicate a lack of use of the inside foot and ski because they are not in position to do much of anything. Equal tipping of the feet and equal dorsiflexion of the ankles requires both pressure to the inside ski and use of the inside ski to achieve yet while achieving this is what, in return, allows the skier to use the inside ski as an active participant in the turn. If it is not being used, there is nothing keeping it back under our CoM where it belongs. We actually want that inside foot to “be in the way” so that it can be pinned back as a result of ground force pushing against our skeletal alignment and thus forcing the inside ski to carve in concert with the outside ski albeit with much less pressure.
Excessive inside tip lead is slow because it delays the time in which the CoM will need to get back over that ski for the next turn. Whether it requires a “pull back” effort or time to get back “up and over” it, both are compensatory moves for the lack of its participation which keeps it where it belongs. We need to transfer from ski to ski in a lateral direction, thus the shortest path requiring the least time and effort to go from ski to ski. If you are being taught to pull it back or get up and over it, you are being taught to compensate for its lack of use. There are many categorical instances of just letting that inside ski do what it wants when you really need some serious outside pressure, regardless of the specific discipline, however, if you are pure carving and seeking lightning quick transfers, it is much faster going from engaged ski to engaged ski rather than from engaged ski to disengaged ski that is ahead of the CoM that must be pulled back or gotten back over it then be re-engaged for each and every turn. It is slower and more of a hassle. And again, things like pullback is coaching to a visual corollary of parallel shafts but not to the cause of parallel shafts.
I see things a bit different from the skiers I would wish to emulate. One of them is the ability to maintain parallel shafts, in both relative planes, throughout the entire turn cycle which is in direct reference to equal tipping of the feet and equal dorsiflexion of the ankles which is then in reference to pressuring “both” skis the way we need to. We want our skis to move back and forth under the CoM together as one unit and not shuffling alternate feet back and forth. Nobody is teaching or coaching anything that would increase the inside tip lead in any discipline of skiing for a reason. While we may always have a little bit of natural inside tip lead, excessive tip lead of more than just a few inches is always the result of an inactive inside ski, boot and foot that is commonly associated with the lack of that mobility. Excessive inside tip lead is an A frame in the coronal plane, viewable from the side and caused by weak inside dorsiflexion. The more commonly referred to A frame is in the sagittal plane, viewable from the front or rear and indicated by unequal tipping of the feet/skis. Both A frame conditions indicate a lack of use of the inside foot and ski because they are not in position to do much of anything. Equal tipping of the feet and equal dorsiflexion of the ankles requires both pressure to the inside ski and use of the inside ski to achieve yet while achieving this is what, in return, allows the skier to use the inside ski as an active participant in the turn. If it is not being used, there is nothing keeping it back under our CoM where it belongs. We actually want that inside foot to “be in the way” so that it can be pinned back as a result of ground force pushing against our skeletal alignment and thus forcing the inside ski to carve in concert with the outside ski albeit with much less pressure.
Excessive inside tip lead is slow because it delays the time in which the CoM will need to get back over that ski for the next turn. Whether it requires a “pull back” effort or time to get back “up and over” it, both are compensatory moves for the lack of its participation which keeps it where it belongs. We need to transfer from ski to ski in a lateral direction, thus the shortest path requiring the least time and effort to go from ski to ski. If you are being taught to pull it back or get up and over it, you are being taught to compensate for its lack of use. There are many categorical instances of just letting that inside ski do what it wants when you really need some serious outside pressure, regardless of the specific discipline, however, if you are pure carving and seeking lightning quick transfers, it is much faster going from engaged ski to engaged ski rather than from engaged ski to disengaged ski that is ahead of the CoM that must be pulled back or gotten back over it then be re-engaged for each and every turn. It is slower and more of a hassle. And again, things like pullback is coaching to a visual corollary of parallel shafts but not to the cause of parallel shafts.